I strongly recommend Katy Lewis at mbaMission. From big picture brainstorming down to nitty gritty essay edits, Katy was always prompt and helpful in our interactions. I bought the 1-school package and only applied to two schools in their 2nd rounds. Though she didn't have direct experience with either of the two schools I applied to, her experience with a top ad com helped tremendously in creating an effective application.

I decided on working with Katy directly after my free consulting session with mbaMission because she made me feel like I had a workable story. In another session with another agency, the consultant oversold the service and didn't shy away from being slightly condescending in an effort to show how she could be useful.

I appreciated that Katy was candid in her feedback about which ideas or experiences I should use in my application. This is probably because she has plenty of experience reading applications and we had a mutual interest in creating a successful application. I liked the brainstorming process at the beginning because a) I got my experiences and goals on paper b) it gave Katy a solid perspective on how I view myself and the foundation of my story and c) we constantly referenced my brainstorming document when answering essay questions. I think she is in high demand because of her credentials, but I took the liberty of asking any questions I had about the application process when I had them. She was very responsive even in the thick of application season in the fall.

I've already referred my girlfriend who is currently a client. mbaMission is cheaper than many of its competitors in a market where they can mercilessly price gouge. Don't take my word for it. Scan Jeremy Shinewald's book to get an idea of how systematic their approach is.

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Angela is inarguably the best. I had talked to 7 different consultants before making the decision, and only Angela pointed out the concerns that I had - since I've been working in various industries for 5 years and already got a graduate degree, my biggest challenge is to select the best materials for my application. Plus going to business school is an ad hoc decision, so we did four applications in less than a month. Were it not for her, I wouldn't have been able to do it at all, not to mention in a timely and effectively fashion.

Angela is very good at spotting your strengths and weaknesses during the brainstorming. A few times I even had this feeling that she has known me for a long time and to some extent, she knows me better than I know myself - at least she gave me some awesome essays ideas that never came to me. She is also very good at pushing you to think hard until you figure out something that both of you are happy with. Trust me that she has high standards and will never let it pass unless she truly feels comfortable with the products. For one essay, after writing two different versions of 12 drafts, I decided to give in, but she told me that I could do better. Brainstorming that essay was a rewarding experience. Eventually, by putting my whole life in it, I managed to finalize the 17th draft. Due to the time pressure, Angela dropped almost everything to help me edit that essay until everything is in place for submission. Even though I didn't end up going to that school, working with Angela on that essay has been my favorite application experience - it helps me obtain a better knowledge about myself.

Angela has also been helpful in many other ways. After the application, I emailed her a couple of times for advice on books, b-school life, etc, she is super responsible and resourceful. She even put me in touch with another client in HK, since both of us would be going to the same school. Guess what, we quickly bonded and decided to be roomies!

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I am convinced that without Angela, I would not have seen even close to the same level of success in the business school application process.

I had a 3.6 GPA from a Top 15 undergrad institution, and a 690 on the GMAT. I applied to business school along with my fiance. We applied to 7 schools together: HBS, Stanford, Haas, Sloan, Tuck, Kellogg, and Booth. I also applied to Ross, but he didn't. I ended up getting into Tuck (both admitted), Booth (both), Kellogg (both), Ross and waitlisted at Sloan (both). After a long deliberation, we ended up selecting Kellogg.

Angela's guidance was amazing. She structured a process that forced me to be very disciplined and efficient in my work, but still confident and proud of the applications that I submitted. Furthermore, I felt like my essays were authentic representations of who I am; they felt very much mine. Angela helped me to achieve this by probing my thinking and helping me down what ultimately became an emotional journey. The best of example of this was my Stanford essay. While I did not get into Stanford, the process of writing the, "what matters most to you and why" essay helped me to process important people and events in my life in a way that made all of the subsequent essays that I wrote so much better. I guess you could say that there were my before Stanford essays and my post Stanford essays. My first few drafts felt disconnected and were a strange mix of intensity and saccharin. Angela suggested that I talk with friends and family and ask them what they think matters most to me and why. This resulted in a tearful conversation with my sister that gave me the "aha" moment that made my Stanford essay one of the most important things I have written in my lifetime.

In short, I felt Angela not only invested in my application process but also that she was invested in me as a person. I trusted her completely as a thought-partner -- she managed to be objective and straightforward in her feedback, while also offering insights that I would not have identified on my own.

I still feel that I have not done Angela justice for how amazing she is. I will always be thankful for her guidance, not only because of the business school that I will be attending, but also because of the growth I experienced while working with her. Suffice it to say that I would absolutely recommend Angela as an admissions consultant!

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When I made the decision to apply to business school, I knew I was not the ideal candidate. I had only two years of work experience and my GMAT quant score was not high enough for top MBA programs. To offset the weaknesses in my application I decided to use an MBA consultant. After three fit calls with various consultants at mbaMission, I chose to work with Monica. Monica is smart, passionate, and motivating. Most importantly, she brought out my best characteristics in my essays, short answers, and resume.

Monica first aided me in selecting my target business schools. We then worked on brainstorming essay topics. While I fleshed out my essays, she helped me develop my “story”. After going through 15-20 revisions on each essay, my essays were unique and truly showed who I was as a person. Monica helped me with my tone, eloquence, and bringing individuality to essays that have been answered by thousands of other applicants.

Because I purchased a three-school package, Monica worked with me on every step of the admissions process. Another part of the package I found particularly critical was the interview coaching. I was offered an interview at every school I applied to except HBS. I was nervous about the interviews, but Monica went over commonly asked questions with me. We molded answers together, and she encouraged me to research the programs extensively. As a result, I was admitted to every school I interviewed at.

I would recommend mbaMission and Monica to every person applying to MBA programs. Monica made me really think about what I wanted to tell admissions committees and how to tell my story effectively. Applying to business school was no longer a scary process- in fact, I can honestly say I had fun drafting essays and talking on the phone with Monica. mbaMission has greatly exceeded my expectations, and I will be attending my top-choice MBA program in the fall with a half scholarship.

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I first came to mbaMission after applying to, and getting dinged from, 3 top 15 schools in 2011/2012. After surveying the damage and doing a lot of soul searching, I decided really late in 2012/2013 application season to give it another try and aim a little lower on schools, but to get some help this time.

I shopped around and spoke to a few consulting services and was impressed with the free consultation with Jeremy. He asked a lot of questions about my particular situation/story, and genuinely answered all of my questions. Most importantly, he didn't just speak about his experience applying to Harvard, or his time working as an adcom like a few other consultants I spoke with.

So I decided to test mbaMission using their ding review to see if I would like to use their services on full school packages. I was assigned to Susan Kaplan after speaking with Jeremy about what I wanted in a consultant (honest, constructive, but tough feedback on my story and chances of getting into different schools). Susan definitely ticked all of the boxes! After spending an hour or so on the phone with her going over my application to Ross, she picked apart most of my application (which is what I wanted) and got me thinking a lot more critically about how uniform my story sounded to the adcom.

So I decided to work with Susan on 2 new schools I had targeted. Long story short, the brainstorming process, outlining, drafting, and pulling together all of the other little things that make up an application, was a lot easier and less painful with Susan. I actually learned a great deal about myself and my goals by going through the process.

The most important thing I got out of the whole experience was understanding how my story sounded to an outsider who didn't know me at all - or in other words...an adcom. Working with Susan made me understand exactly where my weaknesses were and how to address them properly. It also helped me understand my strengths, how to talk about them through simple but effective stories, and how to demonstrate how my strengths added value to the particular school I was applying to.

I was very happy with the services mbaMission offered and I would recommend them to a friend or anyone who needs guidance navigating the very vague waters of MBA admissions.

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When I first started my graduate applications, I was so aimless, and panicked that I won't pull off those essays. I referred to mbaMission complete guide to start off, and consulted Mrs. Monica Okrah, who helped me to find my strengths and highlights of my application. We brainstormed together and Monica was extremely knowledgeable in inspiring me about my career goals. Subsequently, she offered insights to streamline the essays and finally polished the style and language to make my essays flow. At the end, I received the multiple offers from Syracuse, University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins. I would recommend mbaMission to everyone I know, you just can't go wrong with them.

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Without a doubt, Jessica Shklar & MBA mission are the reasons why I’m headed to b-school this fall. Jessica came highly recommended from several friends who had previously used her services, and she exceeded even their glowing recommendations.

Coming from a non-traditional background (military), I was clueless about how to navigate the b-school application process. Herself a graduate of HBS, Jessica knows first hand what it takes to get into a top b-school and how to best present oneself to the admissions committee. From the beginning, Jessica helped me clearly and tangibly articulate why I wanted to get a MBA in a way that was both logical and compelling to the admissions committees. To that end, she helped me develop a rock-star resume, helped me flesh out my most compelling stories (both personal and professional), and when the time came, helped prepare me to knock out my admissions interviews.

Throughout the application process, Jessica continually pushed me to provide hard, quantifiable data to back up my accomplishments and swiftly eliminated any “fluff” that snuck its way into my essays. As a result, each word in my essays packed a serious bunch…crucial when you consider that several of my essays had limits of only 200 words. Jessica also helped me organize my experiences into over-arching themes. This was critical as it allowed me to quickly answer the common behavioral questions that were asked during my admissions interviews, and it was much more effective than trying to memorize answers to questions that may/may not be asked. Jessica always responded swiftly to my questions and often turned around products sooner than the 2-business day maximum, ensuring I had the maximum amount of time to work on essay & resume revisions.

Extremely high professionalism and quality is what you can expect from Jessica Shklar. I could easily write several more pages about the top-notch service and insight she provided, but the results speak for themselves. With Jessica I went “3 for 3” and was accepted into Ross, Haas, & Tuck, and found myself in the “difficult” position of having to choose amongst those three top tier programs. I owe all of that to Jessica, and if you’re serious about applying to a top flight business school, you owe it to yourself to go with MBA Mission and Jessica Shklar…you won’t regret it!!

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I chose mbaMission to help me with my application to USC Marshall. The reason why I chose a consultant was because of the short time frame (1 month) I was working with. I am very glad I did and was very fortunate to have Angela Guido as my consultant.

From the get go, we set up a phone call to go over expectations and to layout the game plan. The first step was to brainstorm - work accomplishments, personal achievements, skills, strengths, weaknesses, random bits about yourself etc. It was a big giant puzzle with pieces scattered everywhere. Then with Angela's guidance, I was able to take all that information and create an outline for each of my essays. In total I wrote 2 full essays , 3 short question essays, and redid my resume. It was great to have another perspective on how to approach and answer each question.

I don't think I could have done everything in less than 30 days without Angela's help. She was extremely energetic and exuberant with an infectious laughter. The turnaround time was quick - on average the edits and revisions took about 2 business days. Through the process, I did about 4 revisions on the longer essays and 2-3 revisions on the shorter ones. The end result was top notch and I was accepted into the USC Marshall Program.

Thank you Angela and Thank you mbaMission!

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I got into my dream school with the help of Jessica Shklar (mbaMission) and I am more than happy with all her help during the entire process.

It took me a long time to decide which consultant I would work with. I spoke to several and did my research over what was posted over the internet. I had heard great things about Jessica online so I scheduled a free 30-minute consultation with her as I did with many consultants prior to that. She was busy and so my appointment was 15 days later than when I wanted it. I almost cancelled the appointment because it was so far out (in retrospect, best decision I made was not to cancel the call).

Over the course of the 30-minute call, it was clear that Jessica not only knew what she was talking about but that she actually took interest in what she did. She told me about specific things in my profile that I need to focus on and it all made sense to me when I read her post phone call analysis. I knew at that time that I have to work with Jessica to get the best out of my application.

Unfortunately, I didn't have much time before my application was due - only 25 days and there were many religious holidays in between. That's where Jessica made the difference. She worked tirelessly to make sure I got each document not only on time but well ahead of time. Once when I submitted the essay to her at midnight, she responded with edits to my essay at 10AM. If I was willing to write an essay at night to meet my deadline, she matched that by returning the essay to me the very next day. Her work ethic was great.

While working on my resume, Jessica went back and forth multiple times and made sure everything was absolutely perfect. She helped me change every single bullet point I had on my first draft. These were all meaningful changes and ones that made my resume very powerful. At the end, I got something very different than what I started with - it was a great resume that I'll be using for sometime to come. After I got done with the resume, I thought I had got most of my money's worth.

However, it was the essays where Jessica really helped me shine. There were stories from the past that I did not know how to weave into my essays. She helped me brainstorm over the phone and gave me an essay map of how I should structure my essay. Every single edit that she sent back made my essay much much better. Jessica was very thorough with her work and knew what an impressive essay entailed. When I was done with the essays, I looked at them and saw that I was more than just my stats on paper. If someone had the same stats as me, I felt really good about my chances with the essays that I had worked on.

Jessica is also very honest and upfront - she's all about straight talk and this really helped through the whole process. In the end, I highly recommend Jessica because she gets it. She knows the whole process inside out, is well prepared and works hard. My essays turned out phenomenal, I got into my dream school and I think her help was the difference that made the difference.

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When I started my application process, I found it very overwhelming. This was partly because I was taking the GMAT at the same time as I was completing my application. I realized very quickly that I needed a plan to apply to my 5 schools and put my best foot forward.

I learned about mbaMission through my GMAT prep course (Manhattan GMAT) and had a discount to take the essay writing bootcamp with Angela. In the bootcamp, Angela helped me think about all of my experiences, personal and professional, and how they may fit the different essays. The brainstorming exercise alone was one I hadn't gone through or thought of, taking the time to take stock of EVERYTHING, big/small, significant or insignificant. She helped me really understand what adcoms were looking for with each essay they were asking as well. I started to really understand how to map each story for each essay, and understand what the essays were really asking, therefore what I really wanted to tell them.

Part of the bootcamp was writing a first draft to one essay and getting a chance for her to read it and provide feedback. It was in that phone call that I realized I wanted Angela to read and critique all my essays. As an objective third party, specializing in helping people get into b-school, she was able to ask me questions that forced me to dig deeper into what I was trying to convey, and tell me when I sounded arrogant (it's easy to do when you're talking about yourself!), or when I was telling versus showing (the hardest thing to do).

You may be reading this review and say to yourself, "yes, I see the value, but it's a lot of money." I thought the same thing, but then looked at the total cost of the next two years and where I wanted to go. I knew I was committing to $100K+ over the next two years and I only wanted to go to a top 10 school, so I knew the competition would be really strong. I decided spending the money upfront to get into the best program where I'd be happy was a small price in the grand scheme of business school.

Another note on cost, I feel I actually got a return on my investment. After getting into the school I wanted, I decided to put my hat in the ring for a scholarship. While I didn't use Angela for this essay, I took the principles I learned from her, show vs. tell, to write my scholarship essay. I ended up getting it! Almost a full year of my program is now paid for!

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